Liverpool’s stuttering season yielded another forgettable performance on Thursday when the English giants were held to a 0-0 draw at Dutch side FC Utrecht in the Europa League.

Roy Hodgson’s side came close to conceding on numerous occasions, with Jan Wuytens seeing a first-half effort chalked off for a foul and Dries Mertens drawing a sharp save from Reds goalkeeper Pepe Reina in the 39th minute.

Liverpool were lucky to escape early in the second period when Raul Meireles had to head off the line from skipper Michael Silberbauer after Reina came for the ball at a corner and missed.

Fernando Torres produced another subdued performance and was denied by home keeper Michel Vorm after being teed up by Utrecht old boy Dirk Kuyt.

Jacob Mulenga spurned a late sight of goal for the hosts, poking across goal and fractionally wide after exploiting hesitancy from Reds left-back Martin Kelly.

In the group’s other game, Napoli hit back from conceding three goals in the first 16 minutes at Steaua Bucharest to snatch a 3-3 draw, with Uruguayan Edinson Cavani notching the equaliser in the eighth minute of added time.

The results mean Liverpool top Group K and have a two-point lead over Napoli and Utrecht.

Napoli’s fellow Serie A representatives Sampdoria won 1-0 at home to Hungarian side Debrecen in Group I, thanks to an 18th-minute penalty by Giampaolo Pazzini.

Sampdoria share the lead in the group with PSV Eindhoven, who won 2-0 at Ukraine’s Metalist Kharkiv.

Gregorio Manzano’s first game in charge of Sevilla saw his new charges win 1-0 at in-form Borussia Dortmund in Group J.

A goal in first-half injury-time from on-loan Napoli midfielder Luca Cigarini was the difference between the teams, while Marcel Schmelzer was dismissed for the German side after being shown a second yellow card for diving.

Paris Saint-Germain top the group after a 2-0 win at home to Karpaty Lviv gave them six points from a possible six.

Later on Thursday, big-spending Manchester City will look to enhance their credentials as a new power in the European game when they host Juventus in Group A, while defending champions Atletico Madrid tackle Bayer Leverkusen.

Newcastle striker Andy Carroll has started the season in really good form scoring four goals.

The giant striker was also last season’s top goalscorer helping the Magpies to the top of the Championship and winning promotion back to the Premier League.

Left Out

Carroll has been left out of Stuart Pearce’s under-21 squad for their upcoming European Championship play-off. That almost certainly means he will be in the full England squad for the clash with Montenegro on 12th October.

England are currently lacking striking options and Carroll could benefit from the lack of options available to Fabio Capello. He has already impressed for Pearce’s under-21’s and could be in line for a full debut

Highly-Rated

Carroll is still just 21 but big things are expected of the young Geordie. He has been compared to Newcastle great Alan Shearer but he has a lot to live up to being compared to one of Newcastle’s biggest heroes.

Homegrown

However there are two similarities with the Geordie great. Carroll is a local lad just like Shearer and he also wears Shearer’s old number nine shirt. According to reports his whole family are Newcastle fans and are very proud of the striker.

Scotland

Carroll also qualifies to play for Scotland through his grandparents. And Scotland boss Craig Levein hasn’t lost hope of persuading him to play for the Tartan Army. Levein told Sky Sports: “We are continually looking for players to play for Scotland. (With regards to Andy Carroll), nothing is dead in the water.

“Until Andy Carroll plays a competitive match for England he is still eligible and it’s something we haven’t given up on. But I would rather concentrate on the players who are in this squad.”

I can’t see the youngster choosing Scotland ahead of the country of his birth, especially with a call-up to the full England squad reportedly so close. To be fair to Carroll I believe it would be a strange move to choose to play for Scotland.

If he had no other option but to play for Scotland then he should play for the Scots but he has a bright future ahead of him and an England career will probably be part of that future. This could prove academic if he plays for England on 12th October.

Different

Andy Carroll is a different option for Fabio Capello. He is an old fashioned targetman. He is nearly as tall as Peter Crouch but in my opinion he is more skilful and a better header of the ball.

Since Emile Heskey retired from international football England now lack a proper hold up striker and Carroll could be the man that Capello is looking for. Capello is still at the stage where he is trying out new players after the disastrous World Cup.

I think Andy Carroll deserves a chance to impress up front. With the likes of Jermain Defoe and Bobby Zamora out injured this could be the perfect chance to show what he can do on the international stage.

(GSM) – Zenit St. Petersburg are the new leaders in UEFA Europa League Group G following a 4-2 win over AEK, while Hajduk Split got their first points in a 1-0 win over Anderlecht.

Zenit needed less than a minute against Greek side AEK, for Tomas Hubocan to put the Russians in the lead. Another 12 minutes later, Bruno Alves made it 2-0.

Nikos Liberopoulos pulled one back for the visitors in the 37th minute but had their hope crushed a few minutes later as Cristian Nasuti was red-carded and Zenit’s Danko Lazovic converted a penalty kick for 3-1.

The Serbian forward then added a fourth goal close to the hour mark, and a converted spot kick from Pantelis Kafes in the 83rd minute was too little, too late for the Greeks.

Hajduk Split and Anderlecht both lost their opening games in this group, making a win all the more vital on Thursday.

The game in Croatia was headed for a goalless result until Ante Vukusic broke the deadlock in the 90th minute to hand Split three valuable points.

New Scotland call-up Jamie Mackie admitted the thought of playing against Spain was “ridiculous” after he was selected for the Euro 2012 qualifiers against both the world champions and the Czech Republic.

The 25-year-old QPR forward is the leading scorer so far this season in English football’s second division, with eight goals in nine games for the Championship leaders.

Although born in Dorking, south of London, Mackie qualifies for Scotland through his grandfather and he takes the place of the dropped Kris Boyd for the matches away to the Czech Republic a week on Friday and the visit of Spain, also the European champions, to Hampden Park on October 12.

“I am extremely proud to be selected for this squad,” Mackie said.

“Me and my grandfather used to speak about it a lot and it is a real honour for me to finally get the chance.

“It was something I always knew was possible. I knew I qualified to play for Scotland but I was not sure if anybody else knew.

“I have been given a bit more of a profile with QPR and I think people are now starting to take notice of me.”

Mackie added: “This has been a long road for me but I am nowhere near the end of it.

“I am not a player who has burst onto the scene as a teen — I’ve had to work very hard to get where I am,” explained Mackie, who has also played for Wimbledon, Milton Keynes Dons, Exeter City and Plymouth Argyle.

“I suppose in a way it makes this more satisfying because I’ve had to work my way up.

“To be honest, the thought of playing against Spain, the world champions, is ridiculous but it makes no difference the opposition, I am just delighted to be involved.”

Scotland coach Craig Levein, explaining his decision to select Mackie, said: “I was aware of Jamie at the start of the season.

“He has been watched on four separate occasions and each report has been excellent. We have been looking high and low to add to the existing pool that we can pick from.

“I believe his grandfather was born in Kilmarnock so he fits the criteria and I’m happy to have him on board.”

As for leaving out Boyd, Levein said: “If you look at the strikers I have picked, I have picked players on form, that is basically it.

“I have had a chat with Kris and explained that to him.

“He is a top goalscorer and I have no doubt that once he hits a bit of form he will be back involved in the squad.”

Scotland, who last qualified for a major tournament at the 1998 World Cup in France, have four points from their opening two qualifiers against Lithuania and Liechtenstein.